~* HoW dO I LoVe pRiMa?...*~

...let me count the ways!

I see Prima stitched paper, Prima flowers, Prima leaves,

Prima pink pearl swirl, even threw the Prima packaging on here!
You get the picture!

xOxO

~* aRe yOu ReAdY fOr SoMe FooTBaLL! *~

I am!! I bleed red & gold!!

So, it has been 11 days since I have blogged, my bad! But I have been busy. First, the kiddos have gotten settled back in school. Time to myself, YIPPEE!!!! Second, I haven't been unproductive in the scrapbooking world even though I have been MIA. I created 24 layouts/projects which I can't show just yet. Oh, the suspense!! I have enjoyed creating with this special line in my hands and I can't wait to share when the time is right. And last but not least, it's FINALLY time for some NFL football!! I live for football. This layout was designed back in March when I was a guest designer for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. I don't think I showed it on my blog then. I guess I wasn't sure if I liked it. I painted, used an overlay- things I had never done before. It was a kit that challenged me, but in a good way! I broke out of my comfort zone and tried new things, and how great that was.

Now, in honor of my 49ers win over the Cowboys last night, here it is!!!

I am excited even if it is only a pre season game! But I do admit, I play fantasy football (L-O-V-E it! Though Sundays can be hell in my house if either of my teams are losing, my poor family!) and I have Tony Romo - the cute Dallas QB, you know who he is!- in not one, but both of my leagues. Yea, his looks have NOTHING to do with why I picked him okay! lol

So I will be cheering for Dallas too, in my own way! And when the Niners flew out of DFW last night, my hubby talked to the pilots on their plane. He even brought me home a copy of the strip for me to scrapbook from the control tower! He told them he was wearing his Niners jersey, to tell the team "Nice Job," and that he'd get them right out with no delay! That's right honey, you take care of my boys! What a great husband, even though he is a Patriots fan!

~*~

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Go NINERS!! Football is BACK, yayyyy!!!!!! xOxO

~* cOlOr Me MiKi *~ guest design work & sneak!

Well, this is my final month as Terri's guest designer for Color Me Miki. I'm so grateful to her for this exerience. I love her kits. I love her design team and it was a pleasure joining them and designing for CMM these past 3 months. Here is a sneak peek of the cute September kit called Color Whimsy! The name says it all! These will go on sale August 31st at 7 pm!

xOxO

~* If the Wig Fits...." PaSsIoN fOr FaShIoN! *~

I have waited to show this for so long! When I was designing for Laura at A Kiss on the Chic, I created this layout of her & I using an awesome kit she had sent me! HA! She is probably going to KILL me for showing it, but I had to take the chance! No way could I NOT show it!

(And a lesson girls, always beware what pictures you post out there because this TOO can happen to you!)

I'm showing it now because her upcoming September kit, Passion for Fashion, was going to be my baby and the papers used on this LO are in the kit!!! And it's finally going to be available!

The dress form below was my special project, and Laura was nice enough to show it on her blog. I'm going to share my tips on making it!

Plus, Laura will be doing her own fabulous version of the dress form as well. These dress forms are so cool, and the papers Laura included are from the Creative Imaginations Melange line - I LOVE them. There is also Prima in there, and Laura's special vintage items that she is known for including. She just returned from Europe with lots of goodies especially for her kits.

There are only 24 of these kits to go around, so if you like it, make sure you grab one quickly when they go on sale August 31st at 7 pm PST.

Laura is also having a sale that night, 50% off a ton of stuff. And make sure you comment on the wig picture if you say hello to her! (Sorry Laura!)

A sneak peek of
A Kiss on the Chic's September "Passion for Fashion" kit!

~* ava and me *~

I'm posting one layout from my September Color Me Miki kit a little early. I was so excited to have some PINK to work with, I could NOT wait! This is Prima's Mommy & Me rub ons, so if you like them, you'll have to check out Color Me Miki next month!!!!!! Very cute! xOxO

~* thank you! *~

I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who left comments after our two family losses this week. I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. It's been a tough past few days. Wednesday morning there will be 2 funerals, one in San Francisco, and one in Boston

for 2 very dear family members. How ironic huh?

But you guys have definitely helped ease the pain with your kindness.

I wanted to post something bright & colorful, so I'm showing this sneak a little early. (I hope Terri doesn't mind!) September is my last month as a guest designer for Color Me Miki. Designing for Terri was a priviledge. She's an awesome lady and I'm grateful to her for having faith in me!

Even though my heart is elsewhere, it was nice to escape to my scrapbooking studio and enjoy this last special kit!

Thanks again so very much for your condolences.

xOxO

~* Heaven gained TWO beautiful souls *~

Some of you may know that the past few months have been hard for my husband and his family. John's mom had a stroke on Mother's Day, and his father was declining rapidly. Both parents were in the hospital and a care facility until just yesterday.

This morning John flew back to Boston to see his dad and to tell him goodbye.

My kids and I said a brief "I love you Papa" via Skype on the computer and he saw us, and we got to see him.

My father in law passed this evening with his four sons and his loving wife at his side. He waited for Johnny before he went to Heaven.

And tonight, Saturday, I got a call from my aunt that one of my dear uncles in CA passed away today. I am stuck in TX getting my son situated in middle school this week, I can't go east or west to be with family. I feel numb. But I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers more than I can say. At least I take comfort knowing that Papa and Uncle Vahram are in a better place than we are. xOxO

~* hOoRaY fOr HoLlYwOoD! *~ (edited)

Hello everyone! We are back from a California vacation and it was awesome. We stayed in Ventura right on the beach! It was beautiful. I'm working on getting my 500 + pics edited while settling back at home in this triple digit heat. But here was a little moment with my son Kyle in Hollywood that I thought I'd share on Michael's star! We took a Hollywood tour which included the stars' homes, walked up & down Rodeo Drive, and shopped on Melrose Avenue where my favorite store in the world is - Tarina Tarantino! That was a little piece of Pink Heaven, I swear! Half my wallet was left in that store, but SO worth it! Didn't get to see Tarina sadly!

But we did however manage to see Christian Audigier at his Ed Hardy store slashing away a pink top that one of his models was wearing.

I'm a native Californian, but San Francisco is so different from LA - I LOVE it!

I didn't want to leave! I'm out of the blogging loop, so I'll try to get caught up soon. Hope everyone is doing great! Thank you for all your sweet comments on my album btw, I appreciate them! I'll be guest designing for Color Me Miki one last time this month and will talk more about that after the 15th!

Oh yea, I got to see the President! Well, kind of!

We visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley! I have to admit, I thought this would be a snore, but it was one of the highlites of our trip. Air Force One was in there and we got to go inside the plane. Of course my husband (an air traffic controller) went crazy as well as Kyle who loves planes as much as his daddy! But that was pretty cool!

So while I was gone from the great blogging world, I was double tagged

by the lovely Vicki (who is having a design team call btw and I am priviledged to be guest designing for her in October) to:

1. Collect the book that you have most handy.

2. Turn to page 161.

3. Find the 5th complete sentence.

4. Cite the sentence on your blog.

5. Pass it on to 5 other victims, Oops, I mean bloggers!

So my sentence is:

This is a bountiful universe, with plenty of provisions for everyone.

My book is Daily Guidance from Your Angels by Doreen Virtue. I bought this at a really cute and well known angel store called Things from Heaven on Main Street in Ventura, California. Love the book and the store!

Vicki was also kind enough to give me a blog award:

Since I have no idea who has been tagged while I was away, I will spare my fellow bloggers THIS TIME of being tagged. I do need to list 10 things I love about blogging to accept this award, so here goes:

1. Friendship- I never imagined meeting such incredible friends through blogging! 2. Inspiration- there is unlimited inspiration here, and it's free! 3. Creativity- seeing what you guys create is amazing! 4. Entertainment - many of you are comedians, and you know who you are! Thanks for making me smile! 5. Compassion - I have found myself connected to many of you through your personal stories that you've shared online. 6. Gratitude - I am grateful to blog among you! 7. Appreciation - Not only for the art and personal stories shared, but for the wonderful ladies behind them. 8. Excitement- I'm with Vicki on this one! I always get excited when I get a new follower on my blog!!! 9. Motivation - When I get in my creative slump, all I need to do is see your blogs to get me going again!

10. Love - pure & simple, I love you guys! xOxO